Don’t leave small pets outside at night unattended. This is literally it.

We don’t need people shooting off guns at animals looking for food.

I am inside the beltway and I have seen coyotes 3 or 4 times in the past ten years. Foxes every day, but coyotes extremely rarely. But I am from New England where it is not infrequent to see them. My sibling had one who hung around lazily in the house across the street -- this is a Boston adjacent suburb. Anyway, you still rarely if ever hear about animal attacks so I think we are long way off of that becoming a worry.

Coyotes in Fairfax are the real enemy: They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats! They’re eating the pets of the people who live there!

Go outside with your pet or get a coyote vest for them. https://www.coyotevest.com/

I live where coyotes roam the streets and jump people’s fences frequently. I live at the base of a mountain. We keep an eye out when the dog (26lbs) is outside. If a neighbor sees a coyote we text each other and keep the dogs in. No one shoots at coyotes and most people have guns at home and know how to use them. Even then NO ONE shoots at coyotes.

Who are Britney Furlan and Tommy Lee?

I am in MoCo inside the beltway. This happened to my neighbors cat a few months ago. They couldn't find him (he's outdoor cat) and they eventually found him in a tree surrounded by coyotes. They scared them off but now the cat is terrified to go outside.

Anonymous wrote:We may have coyotes here but I have never seen one, and I walk at night in quiet dark areas with lots of foxes, deer, racoons, etc. I don't think this is likely to come up. It's certainly less likely than being approached by a sick and starving fox. If that happens, throw something at it and call animal control.

You could get your dog one of those spiky anti-coyote suits if you want, though. Those are fun.

I saw one at the I95 landfill about a decade ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Throw a rock at their head.

Britney, or Tommy Lee?

Why not both?

I dunno, maybe keep your dog on a leash and supervise them outside? If your dog is small enough to get nabbed by a coyote you should also be wary of hawks, who swoop down out of nowhere, grab their prey and take off into the sky. Watch your pets and don't let them roam.

We may have coyotes here but I have never seen one, and I walk at night in quiet dark areas with lots of foxes, deer, racoons, etc. I don't think this is likely to come up. It's certainly less likely than being approached by a sick and starving fox. If that happens, throw something at it and call animal control.

You could get your dog one of those spiky anti-coyote suits if you want, though. Those are fun.

Fairfax County is not DC.

This was a real issue where I grew up. If you have a little dog, you can’t just let them out in your yard, you have to walk them.

I wouldn’t shoot a gun at a coyote holding my dog in its mouth.

Anonymous wrote:Throw a rock at their head.

Britney, or Tommy Lee?

Throw a rock at their head.

I just saw the news that Britney Furlan, Tommy Lee's wife, barely saved their dog from a coyote attack https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13888367/tommy-lee-wife-brittany-furlan-saves-dog-coyote-attack.html. It got me thinking—what are we supposed to do in Fairfax County if a coyote attacks our pets? I know we have coyotes in the area, but what concerns me is that Fairfax County doesn't allow the discharge of firearms in many residential areas. This could be a real problem in situations like this, where being able to defend your pets with a firearm would be very helpful.

Has anyone had similar concerns, or does anyone know of other legal ways to deal with coyotes threatening pets here? I'd appreciate any advice or info on what’s allowed.